Quincy, Ill. - Turnovers plagued the Illinois Central College women's basketball team (18-12, 8-6) as they lost 61-52 to John Wood (16-12, 9-5) on Saturday afternoon in the final regular season game. The loss means the Cougars will be the #5 seed for next week's Region 24 Tournament and will turn around and play the Blazers (who got the #4 seed) again in the Quarterfinal Round on Wednesday, March 6th in Quincy. 

The Cougars had a 28-20 halftime lead but JW erased that deficit in the third quarter by outscoring ICC 21-9 to take control. The game stayed close until the final minutes, but the Blazers prevailed. Neither team shot well (ICC was 18-57 for 32% while John Wood was 19-68 for 28%), and rebounding was nearly even (ICC 42 rebounds to JW's 41), but the Cougars turned the ball over 23 times compared to just 11 miscues for the home team.

"Defensively, we played well enough to win," coach Karrie Redeker said, "but they gained momentum in the third quarter and we struggled. We'll regroup and work to be ready for Wednesday."

Cora DeSutter led ICC with her third double-double of the season (15 points, 11 rebounds), while Elena Redgate had nine points and 12 rebounds. Savannah Orgeron added 12 points and Addi Swadinsky had eight points. Miya Webb had four assists and Paris Wilson had three.

COUGAR STATISTICS
Cora DeSutter | 15 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists
Savannah Orgeron | 12 points
Elena Redgate | 9 points, 12 rebounds
Addi Swadinsky | 8 points, 3 rebounds
Paris Wilson | 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Miya Webb | 3 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Naomi Elliott | 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Imari McDuffy | 3 rebounds

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
2024 Region 24 Tournament Quarterfinal
@ #4 John Wood Blazers (16-12)
Wednesday, March 6th - 5:30 PM
Student Activities Center - Quincy, Ill.
Watch Live (Format / Link TBA)
Listen Live (Mixlr)

REGION 24 TOURNAMENT
QUARTERFINALS (@ Campus Sites)
G1 | #8 Spoon River (0-24) @ #1 Parkland (24-4) | 6:00 PM
G2 | #5 Illinois Central (18-12) @ #4 John Wood (16-12) | 5:30 PM
G3 | #7 Lewis & Clark (3-19) @ #2 Lake Land (23-7) | 6:00 PM
G4 | #6 Danville Area (16-13) @ #3 Lincoln Land (24-6) | 5:30 PM
SEMIFINALS (@ Cass Gym - Springfield, Ill.)
G5 | Winner G1 vs. Winner G2 | 2:00 PM
G6 | Winner G3 vs. Winner G4 | 4:00 PM
CHAMPIONSHIP (@ Cass Gym - Springfield, Ill.)
G7 | Winner G5 vs. Winner G6 | 2:00 PM